Saturday, May 14  the City of Somerville will be having a yard sale of sorts featuring over 100 abandoned bikes. A lot of these bikes aren’t in great shape, but could be a good bargain for anyone skilled in bike repair. Stop by the former Powderhouse Community School, 1060 Broadway, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. to check out what’s available.

By Bob Katzen

On Thursday, the Senate 33-4, approved and sent to the House the bill that would expand current law prohibiting discrimination against transgender people by adding “gender identity” to existing Massachusetts civil rights laws that already prohibit discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of age, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, sex, religion and marital status. Public accommodations is defined as “a place, whether licensed or unlicensed, which is open to and accepts or solicits the patronage of the general public.” This includes hotels, restaurants, retail stores, malls, theaters, parks, medical offices, libraries and public transportation. Debate centered around the fact that proposal would also allow access to legally gender-segregated public facilities, including restrooms and locker rooms, based on a person’s gender identity rather than on their sex.

Celebrate all things tiny and nautical in Union Square!

Tiny Tall Ships Festival sails into Somerville’s Union Square May 14. The Somerville Arts Council and Greg Cook, the fellow behind last year’s “Pity Party,” present “The Tiny Tall Ships Festival” in Somerville’s Union Square from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 14. (Rain date: Sunday, May 15.) Admission is free. The festival is a celebration of everything tiny and nautical for people of all ages. Small ships, sea monsters and other floating sculptures will bob in kiddie pools spread across Union Square. Children and grown-ups will be able to make their own tiny boats to race in temporary lagoons. Pirates and mermaids will attend. Plus a tattoo contest (come show off your permanent or temporary tattoos), stories for children, sand castle building, a pirate-themed obstacle course, seafood, crafts, and nautical/pirate/mermaid/fishy tunes. Costumes are welcome and encouraged.

Join Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, Ward 2 Alderman Maryann Heuston, and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) on Monday, May 16, at 8:30 a.m., for a Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Beacon St. Reconstruction Project. Attendees will gather at 8:30 a.m. at the Durell Community Garden, near the intersection of Kent St., for a short speaking program followed by a photo op to officially kick off the expected two-year project. Newport Construction, which was selected through a competitive bid process administered by MassDOT, will be responsible for the project, which stretches from Oxford St./Somerville Ave. south to the Cambridge city line near Inman Sq.

By William C. Shelton

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

State transportation officials are extorting $50 million from Somerville to help fill a cavernous budget deficit created by their own mismanagement of the Green Line Extension. It’s a shakedown that is unprecedented in Massachusetts.

By Daniel Sullivan

Last Saturday night, May 7, the Boston Renegades trounced the Cleveland Fusion 47-18 at Dilboy Stadium. The Boston Renegades are a full contact semi-professional women’s football team and are part of the Women’s Football Alliance, an eight team league that features teams as far south as Washington D. C. and as far west as Chicago.

On Thursday, May 12 at 7-9 p.m. at the Somerville Visiting Nurses Association assisted living facility, parents, educators, students and community leaders from Somerville will discuss the potential impact on Somerville of the proposed ballot question that would lift the existing cap on the number of charter schools in Massachusetts and drain millions more in taxpayer money from Massachusetts’s public schools every year.

By Joseph A. Curtatone

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

Your general practitioner knows your body better than any other doctor, but she’ll refer you to a specialist when conditions call for it. That’s what we have in mind with our plan to shift the upkeep of Somerville’s athletic fields to specially trained city employees who will focus solely on the care of our natural grass playing fields.

Join Ward 2 Alderman Maryann Heuston, city staff, and project engineers to get your questions answered about Beacon St. reconstruction at off-site office hours this Thursday, May 12. Stop by the Beacon St. Whole Foods Market, 45 Beacon St.,  from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. and stay tuned for future off-site office hours.

If you live in West Somerville, join us Wednesday night for the spring Ward 7 ResiStat meeting. You’ll have a chance to learn more about what’s going on in Somerville, share your feedback, and chat with elected officials, city employees, and your neighbors.